


A Midnight Drive

by anarchywrites



Category: Chromasynth
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25175581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anarchywrites/pseuds/anarchywrites
Summary: Oojin hasn't left the house in a while.
Relationships: Oojin Kim/Adam Akil
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	A Midnight Drive

**Author's Note:**

> sang forgive me for my sins but we knew this was bound to happen

After a while of living the same life, days sort of tend to blend together -- hours turn into days that turn into weeks that turn into years, and you start wondering if you've wasted the life that you were given. You forget that you've got a life to live, still -- no matter what you might be doing with it, you are still living it. And yet, that existential dread creeps in: it solidifies in your brain, and with whatever distraction in your hands, you tell yourself, you should be doing more. This doesn't count as a life. This counts as wasting precious time. 

But you waste it anyway. While yes, you may have better things to do, your drive to do them is nonexistent. Which is why, curled up under blankets and sheets and a huge band t-shirt, Oojin tapped away at her game. She'd glance at the clock, and whether or not any time actually passed was a crapshoot -- she'd check, then check again, and two minutes had passed. Check again, two seconds. Check again, two hours. It was a nightmare, but the monotony was comforting. After a certain point, the autonomy of not going forward nor backwards is too inviting, and you end up not moving at all. 

Yet, a call to arms lay in the pounding at her door. She nearly dropped her DS -- who the fuck was that? She checked the time again, taking in the fact it was midnight on the dot -- fuck, thirty minutes had passed already -- and scrambled to her feet. She looked between her blanket and her DS, pulling the blanket over her head and pushing the system into the pocket of her pajama pants. She dragged the blanket across the house, and unlocked the door, but didn't loosen the chain. 

"What's up." She squinted her eyes past the shadowy figure in front of her door, reached out next to her and flicked on the switch for the porch light; not that she needed it, who else had that head of hair?

Adam squinted in response to the light suddenly being turned on. He blinked a few times, then looked pointedly between Oojin and the chain on the door. She did not open it, turning up her nose a little and continuing to squint at him. "Whas' the password, man?"

"How on Earth would I know that?" He replied, exasperated. 

"Nope, that's not it." 

Adam pinched the bridge of his nose, and let out a sigh.

"Is it, perhaps, 'fuckingpassword'?" 

Oojin closed the door and unchained it, opening it right back up with a smile on her face. 

"Hey, Adam!" She let the blanket around her head drop to her shoulders, and stepped out of the way to let him pass through. "Funny seeing you here, at an ungodly hour of the night. Nothing to study? I have to spam-text you at this part of the night to get you to respond to me, and usually it's just to block my number while you sleep. 'S cold out too, timeskip."

"I figured you'd be awake at this hour. You haven't left your house in days, and it's not healthy." Adam stepped inside, but kept himself restricted by the welcome mat. He rolled his eyes at the nickname, and pinched the scarf around his neck. "It's not that cold."

"So your genius plan was to come here at midnight?" Oojin snorted. 

"Check your phone," Adam said, matter of factly. "I called you in two-hour intervals to see if you were awake. You've been asleep this whole day." He clicked through his phone a few times, showing Oojin a row of missed outgoing calls. Despite his tone of voice, she smiled at the contact photo -- a picture of the two of them smiling together, as well as her name in his phone being spelled with an orange in place of the O. Did she type it in there, or did he? 

Oojin blinked, clinking her tongue, coming back down from her thoughts. 

"What made you come here now?"

"I called your dad, and he said that he'd talked to you around ten minutes ago." His even expression was broken for a moment, eyebrows arched in concern. "I apologize. I was worried about you."

"Ah," Oojin's cheeks heated up in a small blush that she couldn't fight down, and she reached over and grabbed Adam's hands -- absolutely freezing -- pressing them to her face to cool it off. "You were worried about meeee? Aw, Adam! Romance isn't dead!"

He glared at her, but let her touch him just fine. "You didn't explain, really, why you were here, though." Oojin pointed out, and Adam nodded. 

"Right. Let's go out." He winced for a second. That was a little too straightforward, and easily misconstrued. He tried again. "Let's go on a drive. You could use the fresh air, and it's safer than walking around at midnight."

At his initial proposal, she held onto his wrists and moved her head back. At his recovery, she smirked and dropped his hands. Adam couldn't help but wish that she hadn't, his fingers twitching involuntarily towards her hands as she pulled away. The action was unnoticeable by Oojin, but Adam made sure to move his hands to his back pockets, to restrain such urges. No, it wasn't ridiculous to want to hold someone's hand. The problem comes when it's your longtime best friend, who deflects affection with humor and spends days locked in her bedroom, sleeping or playing video games.

"On a drive, huh? Can I choose the music?"

"No." 

"I'm hurt!" Oojin gasped, exaggerated, and put her hand on her chest. "You dare to deny me my aux cord rights?"

"Sincerest apologies, OJ," Adam began, leaning down and picking up the blanket that she had long since dropped from her shoulders. "But children's showtunes mixed with hard rap does not particularly interest me, especially after last time." He folded up the blanket as Oojin sputtered.

"Last time wasn't that bad!"

"Eight hours."

Maybe it was that bad.

"Go out, huh?" Oojin sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, looking up at him with a hesitance that she wasn't sure why she was feeling. A midnight car ride, and she wouldn't get to pick the music. So either they'd be driving in silence (ew), driving with Adam's tunes (would put her to sleep) or... Talking. And for whatever reason, Oojin wasn't feeling in a very talkative mood. It was hard, to keep this facade up consistently. Putting up this front always took energy that Oojin didn't have to spare, and it pained her to do it. She had no idea why she couldn't just be...Real. It's what Adam deserved -- in fact it was what he was owed, considering how much he's had to put up with her antics, but of course, the vulnerability. It was always difficult, especially with Adam. _Especially_ with Adam. There was more there for her to cover up than with anyone else. More true feelings to hide, some that couldn't be shaken away with a smug smile and snarky comeback. They've been getting harder to seal away.

Still, she loved Adam. A lot. Maybe too much. And regardless of her confusion, and regardless of the butterflies in her stomach that would flutter whenever she looked up at him, she did love to spend time with Adam. He was her best friend. And she needed someone like that now. Not someone to shoulder her hopelessness, but someone to let her forget about it. And the euphoria that came from seeing someone she loved outweighed any urge to beat the level she was on. Oojin smiled at him.

"Yeah, sure." She put her DS on the living room mantle, and pulled one of her dad's leather jackets out of the closet. It was a bit big for her, and she saw Adam smile before he had the chance to cover it up. "What?"

"You're just small." He said, allowing himself the moment. It was one of the things he liked about her -- he liked everything about her, but her insistence on baggy clothes always was charming to him. 

"You're just huge." She snapped back, and walked past him into the cold night, towards the sleek grey car that rumbled quietly in it's spot.

Adam closed the door to her apartment for her, and locked it with the key to her house that he had, but only used for this purpose. She forgot to lock her house so often. Maybe him locking it for her was why; or maybe the smallest domesticity kept her from locking it entirely. Maybe they both just wanted a reason for Adam to actually use that key. 

She sat down in the passenger seat and he slipped in next to her. He drove out of the apartment's parking lot, focused on the road, and only the road. 

Oojin reached for the radio.

"No."

Oojin returned her hands to her lap. 

"You missed hanging out with me, Adam?" She teased, leaning back against the seat. 

"Of course I did." He said. "I figure maybe something might be happening, um..." He motions with one hand. "Mentally, that is. Which, you know, it happens to us all. And I know you. You don't really like to talk about what hurts you."

"Oh wow," Oojin snarked. "You pick up another psychology degree in the three days I didn't see you?"

"I'm serious. It makes me worry about you more than I maybe should." Adam took a left turn, and paused his speaking for a while. Oojin looked the other way, feeling her face grow hot again, this time with a twinge more of embarrassment, or shame. Withdrawing from friends was something she was wary of. She knew they just wanted what was best for her, but at the worst of times, she often finds herself wondering if she's worth the effort.

The car slips onto the highway, and Oojin rolls down the window and sticks her head out. She closes her eyes, and lets the wind rush around her, forcing air into her nose, forcing her to listen to the whipping of the air. It undoes her already-messy twin buns, and the air around her is a comfort; as if she'd been holding her head underwater this whole time. Adam watches her out of the corner of his eye, and the smallest smile that spreads on her face finds itself on his too.

Of course, it's the highway. The intense wind can only be braved for so long, and she feels Adam tug her shoulder. She lets him pull her back in, a couple laughs escaping her, but they both pause as they pass a sign on the highway, advertising a fast food place. They exchanged a look. 

"You eat fries strangely." Adam said, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

"You order fries strangely." Oojin said, as she nibbles on a french fry as a mouse would nibble on cheese, then puts on her best Adam Voice. "Ummm, can I get, ummmmm...Ummmmm, um, ummmm..." She snorts and starts laughing. "You aced your SATS, it's not rocket science to order from a menu."

"You can take big bites." Adam points a finger. "You're not rationing food in a desert. There's no need to savor it." 

"I like to savor it!"

"Oh, of course, because such deep and flavorful taste comes from cheap, burger-joint quality french fries. You can truly taste how bad it is for you." He snarked. Oojin for her intelligent, thought-out response, Oojin rolled up a napkin and threw it at his head. 

Regardless, Adam leaned over casually, and Oojin, just as casually, slipped a french fry between his lips. It made them both blush the slightest bit, as Adam straightened back up and exited the freeway. The car climbed up towards a hill, and Oojin looked around. 

"Where's this?" She said, nibbling on another fry.

"I frequent this place often," He said as the car climbed the hill. "It's a very lonely road."

"The only one that you have ever known?" Oojin grinned, cheekily. "'Cuz I don't know where it goes..."

"I'm not playing this game with you, Kim." Adam huffed, and Oojin folded her arms.

The road was in fact quite lonely, with grassy fields on either side. It was a pretty big hill, and after the land had evened out enough, Adam pulled the car off the road, into the grass, and parked. It was a world untouched from everything Oojin was used to -- no technology, no bustling cities or loud police sirens. They both slipped out of the car and Adam took her hand without a second thought, leading her forward. She was glad he didn't see how her face lit up when he took her hand, and he was glad she didn't hear how his heartbeat quickened. 

"Occasionally," Adam began, "I set a telescope up here, and watch the stars."

"Away from it all?" Oojin chides, elbowing him. Her comment is short lived, as she shivers as a chill goes past her neck. It's quickly cut off, however, as Adam wraps his scarf around her neck. It makes her smile. "You're gonna freeze."

"I'm not cold." Adam lies, but it's not a lie anymore when she puts her arm around his waist. 

The two of them sit down, then lay down, and watch the stars. It grounds the two of them to a sense of camaraderie they've always had, and the lingering feeling of romance that always permeated through the air when they were near each other. They adjusted their position, and Oojin laid her head against Adam's shoulder, avoiding the grass that she'd have to pluck out of Adam's hair when they returned home. Her brown eyes twinkled with each star, and Adam found himself looking at her more than the sky.

"Thank you." She mumbles.

"For what?" He asks, darting his eyes up again.

"I dunno." She shrugs. "For everything. For being here. Not giving up on me in general. Really means something. I know we've got that whole dynamic going on, trust me, I'm not trying to break that. Just...Thank you, Adam. For all of it." 

The fond smile playing on his lips was heard in his response, his fingers reaching up and ghosting her face to push a piece of her hair away. He wouldn't have known it was there if he hadn't been looking at her, a small giveaway that made her cheeks blush and her eyes close with his touch. 

"Of course, Oojin. Thank you, too."

"For what?"

"For humoring me."

Nothing else needed to be said. They spent a while longer, together under the stars, needing no one else nor thinking of anyone else in that moment but each other. 


End file.
